now, we're counting down totonight'spresidentialdebate.mittromney's motorcadejust pulled up at the debate hall. president obama's expected to arrive in denver any minute as well. we'll be talking with top supporters of each candidate. the former new york city mayor rudy giuliani, he'll join us live this hour. also we'll be hearing from both candidates' wives in special cnn interviews. today, by the way, is the obama's 20th wedding anniversary. so what's it like spending the night with the romneys? i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." >>> 34 days from the presidential election but much more importantly right now at least right now we've reached what may be the most decisive night of the 2012 campaign, the first presidential debate at the university of denver. after weeks of downplaying expectations, mitt romney's campaign insiders are finally opening up about what they really think can be accomplished tonight. cnn's national political correspondent jim acosta is in denver getting ready to set the scene. jim. >> reporter: wolf, the romney campaign sees the polls m

presidentialdebate,noticed one high-profile exception. >> reporter:apparentlyromneysupporterand republican governor chris christie didn't get the memo. s.o.p. for predebate chatter is to lower expectations for your guy by raising expectations for the other guy, like this -- >> president obama's a very gifted speaker. the man's been on the national stage for many years. he's an experienced debater. >> reporter: because this is a bipartisanly accepted strategy, like this -- >> we've expected all along that governor romney will have a good night. he's prepared more than any candidate in history, showing himself to be a very good debater. >> reporter: since you are supporting romney, you are supporting him, right? then you also need to lower the stakes for wednesday's first of three presidential debates. like this -- >> frankly, i can't remember the last time there was one of these comments that grabbed everybody's attention because, frankly, the candidates are too well-prepared. they're well-scripted. >> reporter: and like this -- >> more importantly, i don't think one event is

to 1980 to find a betterrepublicanpresidentialdebate.i don't know wheremittromney's been,but my god, he showed up last night. >> for all the talk about zingers and everything else coming in, he was comfortable. his jokes were funny. he wasn't forced. he wasn't stilted. and he came with information. there have been complaints over and over -- we've made them here -- that this campaign's been about nothing. that was an incredibly substantive debate on both sides. >> it was. >> two smart guys with two very different visions of america having an actual debate. >> willie, i'm so glad you said that because the middle of the debate last night, we've been trashing both camps for saying nothing. and i looked up at the screen, as dysfunctional as american politics are, and i went, oh, my god, we've got two really intelligent guys here. >> exactly. >> one guy that's been extraordinarily successful in the business world and the other that's been extraordinarily successful in the political world, and they're fighting out two world views. >> i got the sense, though, that president obama was not r

. helookspresidential. governorromney, eventhough he has the experience, resume, he does not really have, in my estimation, the people skills and ability to expand. stuart: i have to get in. you have a rock oktoberfest. your business line is the restaurant business. what are you doing with that? >> we are taking over in los angeles the espn center, which used to be the 10,000 square feet -- wolfgang puck and the fabulous gene simmons are going to be hosting an event on october 15. all the proceeds will go to wounded warriors. wolfgang and i will post it. rock stars, even mr. varney may be there. the entire media will be there. we hope people come down and contribute to wounded warriors. stuart: i am flattered you would suggest such a great thing. all kinds of problems at american airlines. including rows of seats coming loose during flights. would you fly american? tom sullivan is a pilot. we will ask him about that after the break. ♪ those surprising little things she does still make you te notice. there are a million reasons why. but your erectile dysfunction that could be a que

a rally formittromneyfromabingdon in southwestern virginia. >> see the onlyvicepresidentialdebatenext thursday, october 11, live on c- span, c-span radio, and online at c-span.org. watch and engage. in a few moments, today's campaign events with president obama in colorado, followed by mitt romney in virginia. after that, a forum on the election outlook after the presidential debate with charlie cook. later, we will read-eddie symposium on partisan politics and compromise. >> almost 20 years ago, we broadcast one of the most controversial stories in our 44 years on the air. it was called "yes, but is it art? " i was accused of being a philistine, somebody lacking the aesthetic sensibilities to appreciate the challenging nature of some contemporary art. in 20 years, worksite questions -- what made everybody so that 20 years ago? >> i discovered something i have absolutely barely believed. , it isu question someone' more personal and probing than politics, religion, sexual preference, it is something that goes to the very soul when you say, you bought that? >> morley safer on his c

, that the person who lookedmostpresidential, mostinformed on the economy and the strongest coming out of last night was mitt romney, not our very own president. >> he was distracted. he was not -- he was umm -- as you point out, and looking down, i think as the onion gets peeled on thrk we will find that something happened in his presidential or personal life that distracted him. >> he will take a hard look at it. we are going to have to make some judgments as to where to draw the line and use our time. you evaluate after every contest and make a judgment. i am sure that we will make adjustments. >> obama arrived in denver at 2:00 p.m. today. just a few hours before the debate started. recommendny did his debate prep in denver. when guto 5,000 feet -- >> exactly. >> and you only have a few hours to adjust -- >> that's interesting. >> i don't know. >> he didn't lose because he didn't show up. he didn't lose because he didn't use the 47%. he didn't lose because of the altitude, like al gore's saying. he didn't lose because he didn't prep. he lost because his ideas don't cut it. there is nothing

presidentialdebate.ifromneywonthe instant reactions from last night's debates, it's more than possible that the obama camp can win the next 24 hours. also tomorrow the labor department releases its monthly jobs report potentially, giving team obama a chance to change the narrative. let me bring in political editor -- senior political edit editor, mark murray. patrick gaspar was here a moment ago. he had the same strategy you pointed out earlier this morning. they're looking at the long picture or big picture here, and not focusing too much on the one debate. >> that's right. they tried to turn the message. they had an aggressive conference call today. you saw a fiery president obama campaigning in denver trying to point out what they said were misstatements that mitt romney made at the debate last night. so that's what they are actually trying to do. i will say as we wrote in first read, there is that kind of 24-hour period on how the campaigns can try to shake things. just seeing the body language, seeing a lot of the commentary, the obama campaign is still struggling. diana on andrea

obama andmittromney. youwill hear fromformerpresidentialhopefuland utah governor john huntsman, former representative bart gordon and weekly standard editor bill kristol. this is hosted by the brookings institution. [inaudible conversations] >> okay. good morning. we would like to get started. vice president of government studies for technology innovation at the brookings institution, and i would like to welcome you to today's event on campaign leaders. we are what casting today's events. it would like to welcome those of you watching via the internet we also have c-span with us today. we will be live tweeting the event using-tag bi leader. any of you who wish to post comments or ask questions during the event, please do so. during the q&a portion we will take questions from our live audience here as well as our virtual audience. the question about leadership has been a big part of the 2012 elections. the presidential candidate conduct offers insight into its leadership style and approach to management. so the questions we will be looking at today is how does the 2012 president

andmittromneymeetintheirfirstpresidentialdebate.watch and engage with c-span with our live debate preview at 7:00 p.m. eastern, followed by two ways to watch the debate at 9:00. on c-span, both candidates on- screen the entire debate. on c-span 2, multiple cameras. follow our live coverage on c- span, c-span radio, and online at c-span.org. >> coming up tonight on c-span, scholars examined whether presidential debates still matter. that is followed by a look at the role of social media. later, another chance to see the texas senate debate from tonight betwe. tomorrow on "washington journal. " abby kiesa is our guest. then were hear from robert erikson with a preview of tomorrow night's debate. later, an examination of the reasons why people vote. "washington journal" with this month, as the presidential cannot afford a great -- the debate, -- as the presidential candidates meet for a debate, we are asking students to submit to they are asking, what is the most important issue in the campaign, for the grand prize of $5,000. ca c-span cm competition is open to students grades6 throu

? this is big news. >>> betweenmittromney's taxreturns, his time at bain capital, and his comments on the 47%, there are plenty of land mines for him to negotiate as he approaches the first presidential debate. so the one thing he doesn't need, the one thing he can do without, is for his running mate to keep talking about these aspects of his biography just a day before mitt's big night. >> is there anyway possible that this 47% can pay a nominal fee or something so they feel that they have small ownership in the government and maybe they won't take all the handouts so readily? >> i got an idea. let's help them get jobs so they can get a good paycheck so thaen they're good taxpayers. >> well done, mr. ryan. joining us from washington, julian epstein, who is a democratic strategist, and ken vogel, chief investigative reporter for polpolitico. paul ryan has conceded that mitt romney's 47% comments were inarticulate. they seem to acknowledge that the 47%, largely the elderly, working poor, veterans, but now ryan sounds as if he agrees with mitt. which is it? >> that's right. you could imagine j

. by the way, we have been winning those cases. >> president obama andmittromneymeetin their first presidential debate. watch and engage with c-span, with our live debate preview. fallen by two ways to watch the debate at 9:00. on c-span, both candidates on screen the entire debate. and then on c-span2, multiple angles. in about 15 minutes, we will go to the newseum here in washington where the national communications association held a panel with communications scholars on how to watch the debates, what viewers should look for. live coverage begins at 1:00 eastern. tonight, we continue our live campaign 2012 coverage. three congressional debates to show you. we will go to the university of massachusetts for a debate between incumbent president scott brown and elizabeth warren. c-span will have coverage of that. that will be followed at shinnecock by -- 8:00. c-span2 will have eric cantor as she squares off against a former army colonel when powell. live coverage at 7:00 eastern on c-span2. "usa" richard walsh sat down with an interview with ross perot. c-span cameras were there to

't do it in this election becausemittromneyhasnothing to say on this. it's not a debate. it's one guy talking and nobody answering. other republicans below the presidential candidate level are willing to have this debate. this is from "the tampa bay times." "over and over, every time the subject of pulling troops out of afghanistan, republican congressman bill young has voted to stay the course. he opposed resolutions to withdraw and even a resolution to set a timetable for withdrawal. but not anymore." "i think we should remove ourself from afghanistan as quickly as we can," says congressman young. "i just think we're killing kids that don't need to die." this is the longest serving republican member of congress. he chairs the subcommittee that funds the pentagon in the house. he describes himself as a stay the course politician, since the days of the vietnam war. but he now says he is done. he is over it. and you know what? he's not alone. most americans are done. we are over it. more than two-thirds of the country says the u.s. should not be involved in afghanistan anymore and

a challenge from rick perry. people would say hey, this is a do-or-die debate.mittromneymustprove he can deliver the knockout blow, and he did do it in the debates time and time again. >> he did look very presidential in that group. we'll see how he does next to president obama which i think is a little bit different. >> yeah. >> that ohio poll is interesting because the cbs one we had last week had it at ten points. now we have another one showing it at nine points. if you start to look at the map, if he doesn't take iowa, if it gets away from him, it becomes difficult to put a puzzle together to win. >> by the way, there has been this narrative that there is the grand conspiracy and that the polls are skewed. this is what walter mondale said in 1984. this is what moveon.org said in 2004, that all the polls were skewed against john kerry and moveon.org said you just wait. and now you're hearing it frantically on the other side, which ironically, again, they are putting fox news in the grand conspiracy. >> what about the conference call today that we have to plan and organize? >> exactly

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